Sly Cooper: Rise of Vixen
by Yoshumari Korisuno
Summary: Three years after the defeat of Le Paradox, Carmelita Fox is still searching for her beloved thief in secret. When a case calls her to Egypt after a new thief named Dead Shot, she accidentally finds a clue leading to Sly's whenabouts. Forgetting about the case, she pursues this lead, only to be stopped. She is then faced with a choice with what she must do in order to get Sly back.


_Fox, Carmelita M., June 10th__2016_

_Paris_

_It's been three years since Sly disappeared. The short time I spent together with Sly on the right side of the law was nice, and I may have been kidding myself into thinking that he had changed, but deep inside, I felt as if I had lost a piece of my life without having to chase him. But something else came of it, something deeper._

_My work at Interpol has helped ease Sly's loss, but I just can't let him go. I keep waking up every morning, half expecting, half hoping that a report from Interpol will come with Sly's M.O. written all over it, but each time, I'm forced to realize that he is indeed gone._

_Interpol allowed me the use of their facilities for a year while I searched for him, but as that year was winding down, I couldn't find a single thing leading to Cooper's whereabouts and eventually had to officially give up the search. Unofficially I still look for any clues on my vacation time, but still I have yet to find so much as a hint._Carmelita sighed as she finished her journal entry, saving the document and stowing it away in the deepest part of her hard drive before leaning back in her chair and looking up at the ceiling.

Three years: had it really been that long already? Carmelita reached her arms above her head to stretch, her eyes being drawn to the frayed photo she found in the wreckage that had fallen from Paradox's blimp depicting her caught by surprise when Sly kissed her on the cheek, making a small sad smile spread across her face. She missed those strong arms of his around her, his soft fur against her cheek, or the way he would smirk at her every time she walked into the room. Carmelita had done everything that she could, and yet there was nothing to show for it. Carmelita was then shocked out of her trance when a knock on her office door came.

"Come in." she called, as her boss walked in.

"There's someone by the name of Mr. Shell here to see you Ms. Fox." Carmelita's face lit up, surprised when Bently wheeled in.

"Hey Carmelita, how've you been? I haven't seen you in a while and just wanted to make sure you're doing alright." He called in his stuffy nosed voice, leaning up in his chair a bit to give her a hug after walked around her desk to greet him.

"I've been hanging in there. Most of the international criminals have been locked up, and now only amateurs are running around trying to fill his place. What about you and Murray?" She asked, her Spanish accent somewhat conflicting with her French accent after being in Paris for so long.

"I've been searching non-stop. I know it may seem like he's not there, but I know that Sly would never give up on any of us, so it's the least I can do for him. Murray's actually on his way to a heavy weight belt this year." Carmelita laughed slightly, imagining the big purple hippo sporting a huge gold belt buckle, flexing as hard as he could for the camera.

"I have no doubt he'll do it. So what brings you to this part of the neighborhood? I know you're not her to turn yourself in." she asked.

"I came here to give you this. I found it while cleaning up some of Sly's stuff that had fallen over." Bently answered, holding out a yellowing, folded up piece of paper when Carmelita's boss walked in.

"Hey Fox. Dead Shot is at it again."

"Dead Shot? Didn't he just go away for that heist in Japan?" she asked, tucking the paper in her skirt pocket and reaching for her trusty shock pistol.

"He was, but someone broke him out. Dimitri says Dead Shot and whoever was helping him stowed away on a plane headed for Egypt." Carmelita reached to one of her many filing cabinets and pulled out his file so she could refresh her memory as she went.

"Alright, I'll be on my way in a few." She called, leaving Bently and Carmelita alone for a minut, where she forgot that Bently was there and silently hung her head while a single tear rolled down her snout.

"You still think about him don't you?" Bently asked, rolling over to her and took hold of her hand.

"Wha- di…" but her attempts to explain away what she had unknowingly revealed were for naught, closing her eyes and nodding slowly.

"I'm sure that wherever or whenever Sly is, he's thinking about you too." Bently said, patting her hand before opening the door and rolling out, Carmelita close behind as she got into her car and drove to the airport. Memories from long ago came rising to the surface of her mind; the first time she had ever heard the name Sly Cooper when she was fresh out of the academy. Her following the damned ringtail all over the world, only to have to settle for the criminals he had so aptly taken down; even their first kiss after bringing down that mechanical warlock Clockwerk, which honestly took her by surprise. But there was something more that she missed; it wasn't the chasing or the near captures. Through all those years she realized that in a way, it was fun. When she was finally aboard the plane and sitting down in her seat, she heard the note in her pocket crumple. Quickly she stood back up and pulled it from her pocket, opening it up carefully so as not to tear the aged paper when something fell out of it and under the seat. With a quick move she reached down and pulled out an expensive looking diamond ring.

For a moment she was entranced by the finely etched designs into the band that swirled and curled around her first name, written in a fine calligraphic font. She finally remembered the note when the flight attendants begin speaking, giving all the passengers the oh- so-boring safety run through. To drown out their voices, she turned her attention to the note, reading the neat print scrawled onto the paper which looked more like a personal script.

_1. Take her out to an early dinner_

_2. Walk around town, making small talk_

_3. Take her to the Eiffel Tower._

_4. Begin just as sun sets_

_My dear Carmelita: we've know each other for quite some time. And while our meetings in the past may not have been under the best of circumstances, I learned to enjoy our little rendezvous. But these past two years have made me realize that while our relationship may have been fun, it was lacking. I've wanted to ask you this for some time but I felt that stealing you a ring would ruin everything you stand for, and what I would love to build. And so after a few months of hard work, I've purchased this ring in hopes of asking you this one question:_

_Note: kneel at this part cooper!_

_Carmelita Montoya Fox, will you marry me?_

Tears began to well up in her eyes as she finished the note, wiping one of them away and holding up the ring to the light, almost able to see Cooper kneeling before her with this ring in his hand, eager for her answer.

"_Damn you ring tale._" She thought as she smiled and slipped the ring onto her finger; a perfect fit. Emotions within her heart began to run wild as she bowed her head, softly crying as the roar of the plane's engines rose. Half way through the flight, she fell asleep drifting away into dreams of Cooper and his daring capers _all the while her giving chase. And every time she was about to catch him, he would simply disappear in a puff of smoke when she was suddenly stopped, feeling Sly's hands around her waist and his chin resting on her shoulder._

_"I hear you've been looking for me?" he asked. She was about to answer, but her voice wouldn't make any noise, turning around to face him only to find him gone._

_"You've gotten rusty Inspector." Sly said, making her whirl around again to see him standing on the balcony railing, saluting before jumping off as she reached for him_, waking her with a start and the plane began its decent into Egypt. The endless dunes reminded her of the rather uncomfortable performance she gave for a group of apes while they were in Arabia during their visit to Sly's ancestor Salem al Coopar. She never revealed it to any of them, especially Sly, that in the final seconds of that dance she was secretly trying to catch Cooper's eye. Once the plane had landed and she disembarked, she was quickly taken to the Egyptian Interpol office, where she briefed all the officers there about Dead Shot: Nothing more than a trigger happy punk looking for his next score, but a very good shot. His estimated spread was 4 inches at 600 yards, with a pistol.

Carmelita was then escorted to the museum, where she was briefed about the piece that had been stolen: a small portion of ancient Egyptian art from the days of Tutankhamen, estimated at $4.6 million, leaving behind a badly constructed sign in the painting's place. Carmelita let out a frustrated growl; it wasn't because it was another criminal she had to hunt down, but because there were so many thieves out there that were mere _pretenders_ of what Sly was, even trying to copy his signature of leaving behind a masked raccoon badge at his conquests. As she calmed herself, her eye caught something familiar off to the side on another tablet. She walked over to it, looking closer at the worn pictures seeing the all too familiar crook of Sly's cane. The sight made her smile, but what she saw next made her blood run cold.

As she panned her vision to the left, she saw the unmistakable image of Sly with a large jewel in his hand and right behind him, a platoon of guards giving chase. Carmelita quickly covered her mouth with both hands, stifling her joy, or sorrow, or… oh she didn't know what to feel! Frustrated she left the museum, telling those that had come with her that she was going back to the office to look up some old records and maybe get a lead on Dead Shot. Instead she began madly searching the data banks of Interpol for anything related to Sly, all the way from his father up until he disappeared. When she found a file that looked promising and went to open it, she was promptly blocked off by a security clearance warning.

"_Security clearance? Since when did I need a security clearance?"_ she thought, trying to open another file, but again getting the same security clearance warning.

"What's going on here!" she shouted, slamming her hands down on the desk. No sooner had she finished, than a very important looking Doberman walked through the door.

"Ms. Fox, is it?" he asked with a smooth tone.

"Who are you?!" Carmelita demanded, drawing her pistol and charging the capacitors to maximum. The Doberman held up his hands and tilted his head slightly.

"Easy there Fox. My name is Darius Hunter, I'm here at the request of the F.B.I." he said, reaching into his pocket and producing a badge.

"What would the United States F.B.I. want with in Interpol Officer?" she demanded, lowering her pistol but still keeping her aggressive stance.

"We caught your searches on Sly Cooper through the Interpol's database; apparently not everyone got the memo concerning his files." Hunter answered, walking in further and placing a card on the desk.

"All files concerning Sly Cooper have been seized by the F.B.I., and any remaining files and or evidence concerning him are to be turned over to them in the event that more are found. Also his accomplices Murray and Bently are under investigation." Carmelita raised an eyebrow and holstered her pistol; something about this Darius Hunter didn't sit right with her.

"Sly was nothing more than a thief, why the sudden interest by the F.B.I.?" she questioned.

"I'm sorry to say but that's classified, and only those that have been given the, proper, clearance are allowed to view his files. You haven't found anything, have you?" Hunter asked, leaning down to her, close enough that Carmelita could smell the overpowering cologne he wore.

"No, I haven't." Hunter turned his head slightly, narrowing his eyes at her for a while.

"Alright. If you do find anything, call the number on that card." Hunter said, walking out of the office, leaving Carmelita with a deep sense of mistrust rooted deep in her gut. There was something wrong about him, but she couldn't tell what. Upon returning to the museum to hopefully get a better look at the tablet she had seen, Carmelita was promptly greeted by two more F.B.I. officers who informed her that the investigation would be taken over by them. She tried to get through by showing them her badge, but again she was turned down and even escorted away.

She _had_ to get another look at that tablet, maybe even get Bently to look at it and possibly decrypt the words on it. But she couldn't risk it since the F.B.I. was looking into him too; any type of exposure could lead to his arrest.

"What to do, what to do!" she asked herself over and over again, pacing in her office until she thought the floorboards would break, slamming her hands on the desk when she couldn't think of any legal way to get into that museum and get Bently to look at it without him getting possibly caught. Then her eye caught the ring on her finger as it reflected the light into her eyes for a moment.

"No, I can't…" she said aloud, realizing that someone might be listening to her. What choice did she have though? She had found a clue to when sly was and it offered her a chance to get him back. The only thing standing in her way was the very thing that she had fought so hard to uphold; The Law. With a huff she sat down and stared up at the ceiling, holding up her hand and turning it this way and that to watch the light reflect off the gold.

With a disappointed sigh, she lowered her hand to the bridge of her nose and shook her head.

"_I can't believe I'm doing this…_" she thought, going to the roof, pulling out her cell phone and dialing Bently's number, given to her soon after Sly's disappearance so they could all keep in touch.

"Bently? It's Carmelita. Good, and you? Listen, I know this is going to sound loco, but I need you to come to Egypt… there's just something I want to ask you in person… you have connections for transport right? Alright, I'll be waiting for your call."

* * *

Updated - Better ending

**I'm trying my hand at another fandom. I stumbled across the Sly games when I saw a picture on dA of Carmelita, and since then have been sporadically gathering information about them. I don't know how long this story will be, or even if I'll finish it, but if you like it, let me know and I'll continue. **


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